The trip back was quite relaxed. Anne and Gilbert kept close together, sometimes when no one was around bestowing quick and sweet kisses to each other. Gilbert's arm remained around Anne the entire journey. He couldn't believe his luck! He was holding Anne he was WITH. Anne! As they approached Charlottetown both Anne and Gilbert watched over the side of the boat, Gilbert happy to finally see his homeland again! But became more and more nervous as they approached land.
"It's getting late Gil, you're just tired." Anne tried to sooth him.
No doubt he was tired. He'd only gone to bed at eleven last night had barely slept from the high of love pumping through his veins and now… now he had to face her father!
Thankfully to Gilbert's relief it wasn't Principle Shirley who came to greet them.
"Mamma!" Anne called running to her.
"Anne! Gilbert!" Bertha called to them both. She hugged into her daughter with one arm and left the other outstretched for Gilbert, which he gladly received.
Ohhh I can't believe it's only been days! How am I going to cope when you go there for the whole year!" Bertha told her daughter. "And you Gilbert Blythe! Its been a long time since Christmas! Everyone is looking forward to seeing you." She said with genuine affection.
"Thank you Mrs Shirley." Gilbert said with a blush.
Bertha looked at the pair both of them in the eyes, she smiled as she recognised "You finally did it, didn't you?" She asked them both. Gilbert looked at her blushing not sure, how could she know? They hadn't done anything in her presence! "Anne? Can I officially call Gilbert YOURS?" she asked her daughter.
Gilbert looked in horror as Anne trusted her mother as she still had hold of them both! Mrs Shirley would surely strangle him if Anne confirmed THAT! Her head nodded gently "we're courting" Anne whispered. Gilbert was shocked as her mother held them both tightly. "Ohh I knew it! I knew it! Oh Gilbert thank heavens I thought you'd never build up the courage to ask!" She exclaimed.
"You aren't mad?" Gilbert asked confused.
"Oh no of course not! Oh you have to tell me everything on the ride home the pair of you!"
"Gil! Gil!" Jane shouted as they went into the house. The girl running towards him.
"Janey!" He said with a smile picking her up in his arms. "Why you're bigger then I remember have you grown again?"
"I'm going to be five in one week."
"One month Janey." Her mother told her again.
"Yeah that's what I meant one month."
"Gil!" Willis said strolling into the kitchen.
"Willis." Gilbert said with a smile. "Why you've broaden out! How are you doing it?"
"A boy becoming a man I guess." He said with a chuckle.
"Not to mention all the attention off the girls encourages him." Bertha said with a smile.
Willis rolled his eyes "Ma I'm only 15. I'm not interested in that stuff yet." he said blushing
"Sometimes it takes the right girls doesn't it?" Gilbert said with a smile.
"Exactly, and none of those girls are it." He said with a knowing smile.
"Is your father back yet?" Bertha asked him.
"Yes he's in the study." Willis told her.
"Hi Gil, Hi Anne." Mary said coming in giving her sister a hug. "Do you want to hear my new piece of music?" Mary asked them.
Gilbert smiled. "Music to my ears!"
Anne laughed and rolled her eyes.
They went into the parlour where without thinking Anne and Gilbert sat next to each other, no one minded who was in the room and it went quite unnoticed by the younger Shirley's. They sat and listened to the music. A round of applause went through the parlour as Walter came in the room
"Anne," Her father warned her. "You shouldn't be sitting next to Gilbert."
"Walter…" Bertha trailed looking at him.
"Yes I should." Anne said blushing looking at her father.
"And what is that meant to mean?" Walter asked accusingly looking to Anne then Gilbert.
Both Anne and Gilbert sat in silence. "They're courting Walter." Bertha said quietly to her husband.
Walter looked like he was about to yell, something Anne had never seen either of her parents do, instead he walked out the door slamming it behind him.
There was silence in the room for a few moment. "I better…" Bertha started readying herself to stand.
"No can I Mrs Shirley?" Gilbert questioned.
Bertha looked surprised for a moment but then relaxed "Yes Gilbert that makes sense." She told him.
"I'll be right back." Gilbert said with a nervous stroke to the back of Anne's hand.
"Principal Shirley?" Gilbert questioned going out on the veranda where he stood, he shut the door behind him. He gave no answer but momentarily looked at Gilbert before looking away over to the horizon. "You have a beautiful family." Gilbert started not sure how to.
"Yes I do." He said.
"You know I never felt at ease when I visited other places, but here I do." Gilbert half reflected. "I always had such a nervous energy… I'd be surprised if you didn't pick up on it that first day at school at our 'getting to know you' meeting."
Walter was forced in his memory to go back to that first day. Gilbert had been nervous, he seemed worried about meeting the Principal.
"I was worried I was in trouble, how could I be? It was my first day and I'd never been in any serious trouble at Avonlea. I was so relieved when you said it was a getting to know you meeting." He swallowed and paused. "You told me that day Anne wouldn't make it easy for me, that she was very competitive. You were right. She challenged me at everything."
Walter smiled. "She would. She's a lot like Bertha and she was… a challenge every step of the way, she still does challenge me."
"There's something else about Anne though isn't there? She's not like anyone else I've ever met." Gilbert took a deep breath. "I understand why you want to protect her, I mean I guess I won't know fully until I'm a father myself one day. But, I understand, I know how special she is. She must be even more special to you." Gilbert took another breath. This was hard! He'd made it through several grades of exams easier then this! "My intentions with Anne, you should know them, you're her papa you have every right to them." His heart was racing he could hear the beat in his ears. "Anne is beautiful and intelligent and ambitious and she fascinates me because she is such a rarity. I didn't ask Anne to court me exclusively because I didn't want her seeing other people, although I don't…" He trailed then suddenly became more confident. "It could never be casual with Anne. Once we started courting I knew it would be serious because what I feel for her, what I've always felt has been so spell binding and strong. I'm not one of these boys with a different girl on his arm every week, there has only ever been Anne... there only ever will be Anne." Gilbert was stuck in his speech he didn't know what to say to reassure her father.
Walter looked up at Gilbert. This was the second time Gilbert had said something to make him feel guilty for his actions.
"Do you love her?" Walter asked him.
"Yes." Gilbert replied. Walter was surprise when he offered no defence. Gilbert took a breath "I want to court her with the view of one day asking her to marry me." He said terrified of looking at Walter.
"I see." Walter paused. "You love her that much?"
"I love her more than I can express." He said with a hint of desperation in his voice
Walter looked at Gilbert. He was nervous, that sort of nervous he was the first day at school. If you had told him that day in that moment when Gilbert left the office, in theory he could fall in love with Anne what would he have said? 'he'd be a fool not to, Anne is just like Bertha. Who could help themselves from falling in love with her?' Would he have approved of Gilbert? Hard working, intelligent, fitted well in with his family, they all loved him, even Bertha. 'yes' he admitted to himself, he would have approved of Gilbert. It wasn't really him that was the problem.
"You know before I came here I thought in all seriousness I would become an old bachelor. I'd live my life out without ever feeling that kind of 'love'. It wasn't that the Avonlea girls weren't nice or pretty, well most of them anyway because they were, but I'd never felt that something else with any of them. Yes I wanted to get to know them and be friends of course but I got the stage of friendship and that was all there ever was. Then I sat that entrance exam to Queens. Did Anne ever tell you we saw each other that day?" Gilbert asked Walter, Walter shook his head. "I saw her across the exam hall and her eyes were the biggest expression I had ever seen, ever. No one in Avonlea had eyes like that, I knew she was nervous but they were full, you could read them!"
Walter smiled. "She gets that from Bertha, have you ever noticed?"
Gilbert smiled. "Once or twice." He admitted. "It's the same shade of grey isn't it? Does Mrs Shirley's eyes ever turn green?"
Walter smiled. "When her emotions run high."
Gilbert smiled back "That's when Anne's does too. I saw them in the exam hall from across the room you could see them change. I could tell, I could just see she was interesting and I felt like I had to get to know her. I didn't catch her name I spent all summer wondering if she was going to get in."
Walter chuckled. "It must have been a shock to the system when you found out she was the Principals daughter."
Gilbert laughed. "Yes, I tried so many times you know to stop myself from falling, because I felt it every time I tumbled I felt the pull. I was thrilled it was Anne I was falling for, but devastated because I know I'm not good enough for her. I feel as though I should worship her wherever she goes."
Walter looked at Gilbert. He had felt that way about Bertha. He STILL felt that way about Bertha. "Then we've both been ensnared by Willis women, they have that effect on the right type of man." Walter said quietly.
"Principal Shirley, I want you to know as well, as much as I love her, the moment she said 'no' to anything, I would respect that boundary. Even if it did mean I die an old bachelor, I would at least know what it meant to love someone."
Walter sighed. "I've been unjustly harsh haven't I?" He admitted. "Gilbert I'm sorry, I do like you its just its Anne…" he trailed. "I remember holding her in my arms as a baby as if it was yesterday, I look at her and I see my baby." He said wiping his face with his hands running it through his hair. "I just didn't prepare myself for this, for the day I wouldn't be her number one man anymore." Walter chuckled under his breath "You're not going to steal anymore of my daughters are you?"
Gilbert smiled "Your daughters are all enchanting but I've only fallen in love with one of them. I promise when we are ready to take the next step I'll ask."
Walter thought for a moment "If you hurt her…" he trailed holding out his hand for a handshake
"You'll kill me?" Gilbert finished, taking his hand. Walter looked confused at him, "I've been working off the same bases with Willis for the past year and a half. I guess it must be a Shirley man thing."
Their hand shake ended "Year and a half? He knew when you were at Queens?" Walter asked him. Gilbert shrugged. "What was I doing? Walking round with a blind fold on?" Walter chuckled. The door crept open behind then, a rather timid Anne stood in the doorway.
Gilbert moved back leaving a clear route for Anne to go to her father's arms. "Papa?" Anne questioned. Walter looked to her. She stood her hair up much like Bertha often did hers with the red burn running through it her big grey eyes speaking. Walter smiled at her, he saw something else. For the first time he saw it. She was a young lady. Seventeen. Bertha's age when they were engaged. "Anne." He said with open arms. Anne ran to her father's side hugging into him.
"I love you papa." She whispered to him.
"I love you, my angel." He said to her holding her back, he took her hand "you have someone else to love now too." He moved her closer to Gilbert placing her hand in front of him. Gilbert gently took her hand from him. "Love well baby girl." He whispered as he left the two on the veranda.
Walter entered the house to his wife in open arms. He gently went into them holding her close.
"She's grown up." Walter whispered.
"Yes she has." Bertha confirmed.
"I just looked at her just then and saw you." He told her.
"Except for all that red hair." Bertha smiled. "There's something about redheads. I'm glad we have so many."
"Alright Walter, Jane, it's time for bed." Bertha called to her younger children picking up baby Bertha. Walter walked over to his mother reluctantly. When Bertha looked round to find Jane she need not look any further then the knee of Gilbert.
"Jane, come on sweetheart." Bertha called.
Jane turned and hugged into Gilbert. "I want Gil to take me to bed."
"Jane." Bertha said with warning eye.
"Its alright." He said holding the girl in his arms standing up with her. "I don't mind, if its okay, I can put her to bed."
Bertha smiled then nodded. On his way past Walter (senior) he whispered to Gilbert "I thought you said you weren't going to steal anymore of my daughters?" He said with a grin Gilbert recognised as the same grin Willis had on his face when he was joking. Gilbert pulled a half nervous smile and blushed a little before looking away and going through the door up the stairs to the girls bedroom. He gently read a story to Jane, when he thought Jane was asleep he got up to leave.
"Don't go yet Gil." A tiny voice said.
He turned and looked at her. "I thought you were asleep already." Going back and taking his seat back by the bed.
"Gil, are you my brother?" Jane asked him.
"Oh." He said shocked by the question.
"I want you to be my brother." She told him.
"Don't you have enough of them?" He asked her.
"you can never have too many brothers and sisters." She said sleepily.
He smiled. "No I don't suppose you can."
"Mama said some people adopt children so they can love them, can I adopt you as my brother?" she asked him.
Gilbert chuckled. "I've always wanted a little sister. But does that make me Anne's brother too?" he asked her.
She sat up in bed. "No it can't." she told him. "You can't marry your sister." She said.
Gilbert looked at amazement at Jane. "Who says I'm going to marry Anne?"
"Because you love her silly, that's what you do when you're all grown up and you love someone you marry them… I guess you and Anne aren't grown up enough yet." She looked at him. "You ARE going to marry Anne aren't you?"
His heart fluttered. "Maybe, one day, I'd like to." He said honestly "when we're grown up enough." He finished grinning.
"THEN you'll be my REAL brother… but until then…"
Gilbert smiled "we can adopt each other." He said grinning further.
Jane jumped out of bed hugging into Gilbert. "I love you big brother." She told him.
Gilbert had a full on smile. "I love you too little sis." He told her. "Now come on, into bed, before your mother has my head." She scrambled back into bed letting Gilbert tuck her in. "Night little sis." He said to her.
"Night big brother." A weary tiny voice said behind him as he left the room.
Outside the bedroom stood Anne smiling. "I knew you'd make a fine big brother one day." She smiled her head resting on the wall beside her. He took her in his arms. "She's adorable." He laughed gently. "Were you much like her when you were little?"
"Ma says she's exactly as I was." Anne confirmed.
"I can imagine." He said with a smile.
"Just as well you aren't fourteen years younger." Anne smiled giving him a quick kiss. "Come on Ma and Pa don't know I'm up here."